The increased awareness of the limitations of our fossil fuel resources together with the need to develop renewable and efficient energy supplies has caused a considerable amount of research to be conducted into solar energy.
A significant problem with the development of photoelectric converters has been the cost of the semiconductor converter material. This material, commonly silicon, utilizes a P-N junction to develop a potential when exposed to light. However, to operate properly, a typical system requires a large amount of semiconductor material for a relatively small area. Another problem encountered is that either the thickness of the semiconductor material must be such that it will be tolerant of bending stresses, or the cells must be in such small units that they can be made flexible to the extent necessary for normal handling and use. A third problem area has been the fault tolerance of large area arrays, in that a single shorted cell may affect the entire unit by diverting the generated electricity through the shorted cell.
One approach to these problems was suggested in an article by M. B. Prince, entitled "Large Area Silicon Solar Cells" (14th Annual Power Source Conference, 1960, p. 26). He suggested using semiconductor spheres in a plastic matrix, but problems were encountered in making electrical contacts. For example, see the monograph "Semiconductors and Semimetals - Vol. 11, Solar Cells" by Harold Hovel, (Academic Press, 1975), chapter 9, section G on page 209.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a large area photoelectric converter array utilizing a minimum of semiconductor material.
It is another object of the invention to provide a flexible array for photoelectric conversion which is capable of bending and flexing without damage and which can be manufactured as a thin sheet.
It is a further object of the present invention to develop a large area photoelectric array with a sufficient short circuit fault tolerance that a number of short circuited cells do not cause significant degradation in electrical performance.
It is a further object of the invention to develop a low cost manufacturing process for a large area photoelectric array, in which the highest temperature required is less than 400.degree. C.
An additional object is to provide a series interconnection system in the same plane as the array, connected during the array manufacturing process with very little additional cost to the finished assembly.